First U Think

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 with Rev. LoraKim Joyner

Today, we will briefly review the scientific and cultural aspects of how people relate and respond to nature, and specifically to birds. Being intentionally mindful of birds reaps benefits not just for humans but for the birds themselves. As people come to understand and connect to birds, they increase their resilience and health by being with birds and, in so doing, increase their capacity to care for themselves and others. The mindful practice of birds can take only minutes a day but conversely also involves a lifetime of commitment, exploration, and wonder. Rev. Joyner will share how her lifetime working with birds has changed her and others with whom she works. 

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with Rev. Meredith Garmon

Shunryu Suzuki said, "You are perfect just as you are, and you could use a little improvement." Or, we might say, "...and you're still growing." So how should a perfect person live?

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with Rev. Meredith Garmon

We’re an LGBTQ welcoming congregation because it’s the right thing to do, because it’s what justice requires, but also out of sheer gratitude for what diversity of attraction and of identity teaches all of us about ourselves.

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with Meredith Garmon

"Hope is not a plan" (attributed to Anderson Cooper, Harrison Jones, and others), the saying goes. Without hope, however, we may not make and carry out plans. Active hope, as opposed to passive hope, can have a positive function.

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with Rev. Meredith Garmon

How about a celebration of the flowering of truth? We'll have our flower communion and acknowledge the Buddhist holiday, Vesak.

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with Rev. Meredith Garmon

Reflections on the courage to choose change, and to face the changes we don't choose. Changing means the death of the person that you used to be, so facing ultimate bodily death is integral to facing change (chosen and not).

Note:  We experienced an audio cut-off after the interlude, which may affect the sound quality. We apologize for the technical error. 

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with Birch Cue

What gifts can give us the courage to embrace a life full of changes? Please join Birch Cue, our Faith Formation and Congregational Life Coordinator, as we explore the sometimes frightening transitions of life. 

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with Rev. Meredith Garmon

We are built, it seems, to be creatures of both aspiration and fear.

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 with Rev. Meredith Garmon 

Freedom is ever the half-won blessing. We have overcome some constraints – but "chains still there are to break." 

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with Rev. Meredith Garmon

Every day is Earth day, of course. But we don't always talk about it in our Sunday service. This Sunday, let's talk about it!

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